


The Doctor, the Bad Wolf, and the Ghost Monument

by AXEe



Series: Lucky Thirteen [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Wolf Rose Tyler, F/F, Gen, Time Lord Rose Tyler
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-27
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-03 19:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16332311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: Once more unto the breach...





	1. Desolation

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are folks! The first chapter of my AU of "The Ghost Monument" and second installment of "Lucky Thirteen", plese enjoy! :=)

******

Cold.

Dark.

No air.

Graham O’Brian coughed as he took a breath

“ _Easy,_ ” a voice said distantly “ _just breath slowly, Graham. Nice and slow_ ”

Groaning, he blinked as a woman’s face blurred in and out in front of his eyes

“Hey,” she said as she finally came into focus “easy, easy,” she soothed as he struggled to sit up “take it slowly. Trust me being in a vacuum isn’t fun”

“Rose” he recognized groggily

“That’s right” she nodded

“We were in space” he murmured, trying to get the heavy feeling out of his limbs

“We still are, technically,” Rose explained “this is a spaceship”

“ _My_ spaceship!” a woman’s voice objected firmly

Rose rolled her eyes as Graham struggled to his feet

“Who’s that?” he asked

“She says she’s the pilot” Rose explained

“Where’s Ryan and the others?” he asked “Yaz? The Doctor?”

“I don’t know,” Rose admitted “I keep telling her,” she gestured towards the woman manning the controls “…that there were five of us”

“And I keep telling you,” the woman proclaimed, swinging herself around to face them “that I only found the two of you, I mean things were moving pretty fast,” she chuckled and shook hr head “that was a _very_ sneaky trick of his,” she mused “especially coming out of hyperjump. And you two could have been killed!” she proclaimed

“Look, I keep telling you,” Rose objected, marching over to her “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about”

The woman laughed giddily, looking her up and down

“You are a very funny little bonus” she declared

“Where, exactly, in space are we?” Graham asked “do you know?” he glanced at Rose hopefully

“Just off the final planet,” the pilot answered “at least where it should be,” she added, scrutinizing the controls “it’s fallen out of orbit, not where it should be, but I still found it,” an alarm began to blare “final approach,” their pilot announced “lock yourselves in” she ordered

“We’re not doing anything,” Rose hissed, and Graham found himself backing away from the solid _steel_ in her voice “…until you turn this ship around and go back for our friends” she ordered

For a moment it looked like that the pilot might actually agree, but then she shook her head

“There’d be no point,” she objected “I’m not giving up now. Besides, even if they were back there they’d be dead by now”

******

Yaz blinked as she regained consciousness, stumbling out of the small pod she found herself in, she found an equally groggy-looking Ryan staggering out of an identical pod

“Ryan? You OK?” she asked

“Yeah,” he shook his head “I think so”

“What’s that yelling?” Yaz wondered as they found a set of doors, which slid open as they approached, finding The Doctor pacing what appeared to be a cockpit of some sort

“…half the shields on this ship are failing!” The Doctor exclaimed

“Stop insulting my ship!” the man working the controls, presumably the pilot, countered “this is one of the best ships in the cosmos!”

“Really?” The Doctor scoffed “I’d hate to see the other ones”

“I don’t need your help!” he spat

“Clearly, you do,” she countered “you’ve power failing across three sections, this ship is on the verge of total shutdown!”

“How can a planet be in the wrong place?!” he demanded of no one in particular, scowling at the screen before him “it should’ve been back there where I scooped you up! We should be in its gravity belt by now”

“Well, we’re not” The Doctor scoffed

“Hi,” Yaz waved weakly as she and Ryan staggered in “I can smell burning”

“Well, what’d you know,” the pilot remarked in mild amusement “they _are_ alive”

“Yaz, Ryan,” The Doctor hurried over to them “you both need to get back in the medipods” she instructed as the room shuddered violently

“Where’s Rose and Graham?” Ryan asked as The Doctor turned back

“There!” she pointed out the viewport “the planet’s there!”

The man slowly stood up

“How can it be there?” he wondered

“Does it even have a name?” The Doctor asked

The man shrugged

“Only a symbol,” he answered “or a warning. Closest word is…‘Desolation’,” he set his jaw “right,” he growled, quickly spinning around and brushing past The Doctor “I can do this,” he muttered as he bent down and pulled up a part of the floor “I’ll not be beaten, I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeves” he snarled as he pulled a component of some sort out of the floor

“Manual shield activators?” The Doctor exclaimed “wow, this thing should be on _Antiques Roadshow_ ”

“Right,” he snarled, quickly standing up “blast shields up, don’t know how long they’ll last though”

“Brilliant, about to crash-land on a planet called ‘desolation’,” The Doctor exclaimed “real grounds for optimism”

“Don’t you understand anything?” he demanded “I can’t even get us there!” he exclaimed, turning to work a console “because of the fuel—” the console suddenly burst into a shower of sparks “…because of the fuel I wasted scooping you three up”

“We’re on a spaceship,” Ryan muttered as he stared at Yaz with wide eyes “we were in space” he exclaimed, clearly torn between amazement and shock

“Now we’re not” Yaz reminded him, still struggling to wrap her head around it all

“I can get us into the atmosphere,” The Doctor explained “if we jettison the rear section”

The man turned to her, glowering

“Nobody is jettisoning anything,” he growled “this is the _Cerebros_ , she’s the envy of millions”

“Really?” The Doctor asked in surprise

“Yes,” he exclaimed “people have written songs about her”

“They’ll be writing operas about our pointless deaths if we don’t take drastic action” she countered as he retook the controls

“We’re going to die?” Ryan asked

The Doctor turned to them

“Sorry, Ryan, Yaz, forgot you were there,” she apologized “no need to panic,” she assured them as she turned back to the controls “five sections down,” she announced “six seconds left on life support,” she leaned into the pilot’s person space “are we doing this or what?” she demanded

He set his jaw again, spitting out what sounded like a curse word

“Let’s do it,” he sighed, quickly getting up and marching to the rear of the cockpit “it’s last stage anyway,” he grabbed what looked like a pack of some sort and threw it towards The Doctor “catch,” he ordered as she caught it before he turned to Ryan and Yaz “you two” he threw two pack-like objects at them as the doors slid shut

“What is actually happening?” Yaz demanded

“No need to panic,” The Doctor assured her “we’re just going to lighten the load a bit by blowing off the back of this spaceship” she explained

“Ready?” the pilot asked

The Doctor nodded

“Ready”

“Jettisoning”

The ship shuddered violently as the rear section—now separated by the heavy-looking doors—broke away, lazily drifting away into the void…

******

Rose grimaced as she shielded her eyes from the blinding sun as their pilot marched away from them across the sand

“We’re on an alien planet” Graham exclaimed

“Three suns,” Rose nodded up at the three suns in the sky “definitely not Sheffield”

“Is this normal for you?” he wondered

“More or less” she shrugged

“So…what do we do now?” he asked

She glanced at him and then at the pilot

“I don’t know about you, but I’d say we just follow her” she shrugged

“Fine by me” he nodded as they stepped off the platform and began to follow the pilot…

******

Meanwhile, The Doctor’s day was just getting worse

“All systems off-line!” the pilot hollered over the shaking of the ship “we’re not going to make it!”

“Extra hands here!” The Doctor called out, frantically tapping the console she was working at, Ryan and Yaz hurrying over to help

“You can be honest with us,” Yaz panted out “are we going to die?” she wondered

“One day, yes” The Doctor nodded “comes to us all. But not right. Not if I have anything to say about it,” she declared. She paused “besides,” she added quietly “Rose is still out there,” she dropped down to a crouch “right,” she began prying up the floor panels “this ship is old school, I’m good with old school,” she beckoned Ryan and Yaz down “manual stabilizers,” she explained, gesturing to the four levers inside “pull these four levers up, they’re going to pull down and to the left, I want you two to pull them up and the right, as strong as you can,” as they both nodded, she stood up and assessed the pilot’s progress “that descent pattern won’t work!” she exclaimed

“We’re about to die and you’re still having a go?!” he demanded “you think you could do better?”

“Actually,” she quickly dropped into the co-pilot’s seat “…yes, I can”

“Doctor!” Yaz called out “these stabilizers don’t feel very stable!”

“By the way,” The Doctor panted out “number five shield hazing”

“What?” the pilot demanded “number four shield down,” he reported as the ship continued to rock and shake “flight path failure…we’re entering the gravity belt…”

******

“Look,” Rose sighed “I keep telling you, whoever or whatever you think we are, we’re not”

“Are you still pleading ignorance?” their pilot chuckled

“What is that?” Graham asked, pointing up at a bright light in the sky

“Is that another ship?” Rose wondered as their pilot swore in clear amazement

“How did he even make it?” he breathed

“It _is_ another ship” Rose realized

“Another spaceship about to crash-land” Graham realized

“ _Run!_ ” Rose ordered, already sprinting down the narrow canyon, the others swiftly following, each yelling for the others to keep going as the ship got closer and closer, scrapping across the rocks before screeching to a stop in a massive cloud of dust and rock, the shockwave knocking the three to the ground.

Panting for breath, Graham and Rose sat up, watching as a figure slowly staggered through the dust cloud

Rose excitedly surged to her feet

“Doctor!” she exclaimed

“Oh...Rose,”

The two women quickly flung themselves into each other’s arms, squeezing tightly

“Sorry about the mess” The Doctor laughed as she held Rose tight

“Always have to make an entrance don’t you?” Rose laughed as they pulled apart, Yaz and Ryan staggering out of the dust cloud behind them

“We thought you were dead” Graham coughed out as he shakily sat up

“We thought you were dead” Yaz breathed as she and Ryan helped Graham to his feet

“Right,” The Doctor turned to face them “quick update: I’ve made a terrible mistake, we shouldn’t be here, but I’m fix it and get you guys home, I promise” she looked around, surveying the landscape

“As soon as you figure out where we are?” Rose wondered

“Yep”

“How’re you going to do that then?” Graham wondered

“I don’t know,” The Doctor shrugged “I’m treating it as a chance to surprise myself,” she straightened up “come on, Rose,” she sang out cheerfully “oh!” she turned back to the others “allow me to welcome to what I presume is your first alien planet. Don’t touch anything”


	2. Space Race

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter TWO! Enjoy! :=)

******

“You said this place was called ‘desolation’?” Rose asked, turning to her…wife? She paused; ‘wife’ would do now she decided. There had never been any official ceremony, but they were as good as married

“That’s what Epzo said” The Doctor nodded

“Who?”

The Doctor nodded back towards the crashed spaceship and the man emerging from the wreck. The pilot of the ship Rose and Graham had been on smirked at him

“Well, look at you, Epzo” she chortled

“Angstrom” he chuckled in reply

“You can’t even control your ship now,” she laughed “ _you nearly killed us!!_ ” she roared

Epzo smirked

“Yeah, well, maybe I’ll try better next time,” he snorted “where’s Kroton and Feryor?” he asked

“Failed hyperjump,” Angstrom replied “both of them”

Epzo turned to her, clearly surprised

“You’re kidding,” he exclaimed. He chuckled darkly “no matter,” he dismissed “it’ll just make the next part easier”

Angstrom laughed richly

“You would really like that, wouldn’t you?” she held up her hand “you’re forgetting, I’ve got _two_ bonuses” she held up two fingers smugly

Epzo smirked

“And I’ve got three,” he countered, holding up his own hand “count ‘em, Angstrom, _three_ ”

Anything that Angstrom was going to retort was cut off as an alarm of some sort suddenly blared out across the sands. Angstrom grinned as she slung her pack over her shoulder

“What’s that?” Rose asked as Angstrom’s grin widened

“Here we go” she declared, quickly scurrying down the slope, Epzo following

“What do you mean ‘here we go’?” The Doctor asked “’here we go’ where? To what?” she wondered, quickly following, Rose’s hand held tightly in her own

“Yeah where are we actually going?” Ryan asked…

******

They’d been walking for about half an hour by Rose’s estimation. Surveying the landscape, she noted the lack of trees, animals, or even any shrubbery. In fact the only life on this planet seemed to be her and the others.

Jogging up ahead, she rejoined The Doctor.

“So,” she panted out “do you have _any_ idea where we are or what’s going on?”

“Not a clue” The Doctor admitted

“So, another day at the office, huh?” Rose shrugged

“Basically,” The Doctor shrugged, absently putting a hand in her pocket “oh, I forgot I put stuff in these pockets” she realized, triumphantly holding up a chocolate bar, which she tore open and broke in half, handing one half to Rose

“This sand is getting into my eyes something rotten” Graham complained from behind

“Want to borrow my shades?” The Doctor offered, turning and holding out a pair of sunglasses to him

“Oh, ta” he beamed, quickly putting them on

“Like an old pair of mine,” The Doctor shrugged. She frowned “well, I say ‘mine’. Can’t remember who I borrowed them off now,” she turned to Rose “who _did_ I borrow those off of?” she asked

“Oh god, who can remember?” Rose groaned. She glanced back at Graham “it was either…Audrey Hepburn or...Pythagoras” she finally said

“Eh? Pythagoras never wore shades” Graham pointed out

“You obviously never saw him with a hang over,” The Doctor chuckled as the group stopped at a rise in the dune overlooking a wide flat plain with a large, lone tent being the only feature

“Do you two know what that is?” Rose asked

Epzo scoffed and scowled at her as if she was the dumbest person in existence

“It’s a tent” he scoffed

The Doctor and Rose rolled their eyes in response

“No, obviously it’s a tent, she meant…,” The Doctor trailed off as Epzo and Angstrom hurried down the dune towards the tent “oh, never mind,” she sighed “come on,” she beckoned the others “no dawdling,”

Pausing outside the tent, The Doctor took a breath

“Be careful,” she warned “I don’t know what’s going on, could be dangerous. Oh, probably is dangerous”

“Can I ask,” Graham began “but if we are on an alien planet, with aliens, how come we can understand them? Ain’t they speaking alien?”

“Hold on, let’s see,” Rose beckoned him over and gently turned him around, pulling his collar down “yeah, thought so,” she nodded as she spotted the small bright red dot of light glowing under the skin of his neck “standard medipod procedure. They check for a universal translator, implants one if you don’t have one”

“Eh?” Graham scowled as he turned back around “well can people, and things, stop putting stuff inside me without my permission?” he demanded

“If I had my TARDIS, you wouldn’t need one,” The Doctor pointed out. She turned back to the tent “come on”

******

The interior of the tent looked like something out _Arabian Nights_ , opulently decorated with gold and fine embroidery. Sitting on a plush seat, arms spread out, equally opulently attire, a middle aged, balding man waited, his bearing spoke of wealth and influence

“This is lavish for a tent,” The Doctor noted as she approached their mysterious host “I’m The Doctor,” she introduced herself “this is Rose Tyler, and these are our new friends, Graham, Ryan, and Yaz. Now…,” she frowned and slowly swept out an arm, the limb passing straight through the man as the entire tent flickered and distorted

“Oh, I see,” she breathed “hologram, thought so. Good one though. I love a good hologram,” she turned to the others “Rose and I were holograms once”

“Oh don’t remind me,” Rose sighed “worst three weeks of my life”

“Oh come on, it wasn’t that bad,” The Doctor objected “think of all the gossip we picked up,” she grinned as she gestured to the hologram “so, Rose, thoughts? Projected reality or AI interface?”

“Bit too lavish for an AI,” Rose noted “why a tent? Why not just a…floating head in the middle of nowhere?”

“Good points,” The Doctor nodded “I thought so too,” she bent down and peered up at the hologram “because, for an AI interface, those are really excellent nose hairs”

The hologram finally turned to Angstrom and Epzo

“Who are these people?” he asked

“Bonuses” Angstrom explained proudly

“No”

“What?” Epzo hissed

“I told you,” the hologram shrugged “bonuses and snaketraps are over”

“They were hanging in a star field when we exited hyper,” Epzo pointed out “are you saying that we scooped them for nothing?” he demanded

“Yes”

“I sacrificed my ship!” Epzo spat

“Yeah. Sorry,” The Doctor apologized “some of this my fault,” she turned to the hologram “hi. We were loads of solar systems away. Rose and I were trying to find our own ship. We got a fix on it _here_ …,” she trailed off “…and then it all went quite badly wrong, actually,” she gestured to Ryan, Yaz, and Graham “these three are being very good at not going on about it, very grateful you came” she smiled “can I ask, what exactly is going on here? Because I’m confused,” she turned to the other three “are you confused, because I’m confused”

“Pretty confused” Yaz nodded

“Proper confused” Ryan added

“I’m way beyond confused” Graham admitted

“You’re intruding upon the last stage of the last-ever Rally of Twelve Galaxies” the hologram explained

“So, what, like a race?” Rose asked “like…Paris-Dakar in space?”

“Are you two space-racing each other?” The Doctor asked, gesturing to Angstrom and Epzo

“We’re the finalists” Angstrom answered proudly

“Forty thousand entered, two are left,” the hologram explained “only one may claim the prize”

“What’s the prize?” Ryan wondered

“For the final ever race? Three point two tillion krin” the hologram answered

“Three point two trillion what?” The Doctor asked

“Krin” Angstrom answered

“How much is a ‘krin’?” Rose asked

“Two hundred kavlons” Epzo answered

“No” The Doctor shook her head

“Ninety forvalars” Angstrom pitched in

“Still no” The Doctor shook her head

“Four thousand trynites,” Epzo explained “in old currency”

“Still behind on my exchange rates” The Doctor reasoned

“Enough,” the hologram interrupted “to provide a…lifetime of comfort on a safe world for the winning pilot and their entire clan”

“Are we eligible too?” Ryan wondered

“No” the two pilots and The Doctor and Rose answered

“You’re irrelevant,” Epzo dismissed. He turned back to the hologram “get on with it, Illian, tell us the task”

The hologram now identified as ‘Illin’ leaned back in his seat

“For the final stage, cross the terrain, survive the planet, make your way across the mountains, and the first one to reach the site marked as the ‘ghost monument’ will be declared the winner and transported off this planet,”

Angstrom and Epzo both smirked at each other, each confident that they’d win

“The loser,” Illin continued “…will be left behind”

“You can’t just leave one of us here,” Angstrom objected “the ships are out of fuel”

Illin surged to his feet and marched up to her

“Don’t tell me what can and can’t do in my own race,” he growled. He leaned in predatorily “you knew what the risks were when joined,” he reminded her. She visibly paled and nodded shakily as Illin stepped back “biggest ever prize, biggest ever risk” he declared

“Oi, hang on, what about us?” Graham objected

Epzo glowered at him

“Shut up,” he sneered “you’re not part of this”

“Excuse me, we are human beings,” Graham objected “show a little bit of solidarity”

Epzo stared at him

“I’m Moxtrain,” he explained. He nodded at Angstrom “she’s Albarian”

“We’ve never even heard of ‘moomenbeams’.” Angstrom pointed out

“No, _beings_ ,” Ryan corrected “human beings. You know, from Earth?”

“Nope” Ezpo dismissed

“Never heard of it” Angstrom shook her head 

“Pretty cruel race,” Rose noted “leaving the loser stranded”

“Well, the Rally is a test of survival,” Illin dismissed “how far will we go? What will we do to survive? It’s the ultimate test”

“Interesting use of the word ‘we’,” The Doctor pointed out “seeing as how you’re not even here”

She and Rose withdrew their sonic screwdrivers and scanned him

“Projected in from a very long way away” The Doctor noted

“I started the Rally,” Illin explained “I competed, and I won, and now I’m going to finish it,” he turned to Angstrom and Epzo “no sabotage, no injuries, and no killing each other”

“Shame” Epzo smirked

“ _Instant disqualification_ applies,” Illin warned “now take your meds, don’t travel at night, and don’t drink the water. In fact don’t even _touch_ the water. This entire planet has been made cruel” he warned

“Made cruel how?” The Doctor asked “and by whom?”

“This stage must be completed in one full solar rotation,” Illin continued as if she hadn’t spoken “you have one single piece of assistance: transport, provided by the water. Get across the water, through the ruins, and the site of the Ghost Monument is on the other side of the Mist Swamps

“Mist what?” Yaz echoed

“You’ll find your route trackers on the table over there,” Illin gestured to a small table in a corner “good luck”

“I know you prefer to ignore me,” The Doctor stepped up to him “bur _what_ is it? The ghost monument?”

“The site was named by the ancient settlers,” Ilin explained “it appears in exactly the same place every thousand rotations”

“I’ve got my route tracker and I’m good to go” Angstrom announced, already slipping out the tent’s opening

“See you for the prize, Illin,” Ezpo smirked “I’ll finally get to light my Althusian cigar,” he held up a distinctly cigar-like object “been saving it for the win” he chuckled as he too left

“What does it look like? This ghost monument?” The Doctor urged

“What does it matter?” Illin dismissed, passing through her as if she was the hologram

“Look at us,” Rose exclaimed “five people stranded on a deadly planet with very little chance of survival. We need all the information we can get”

“Including, but not necessarily limited to, what this ghost monument actually looks like when it appears” The Doctor added

In answer, Illin gestured and a hologram of an object appeared on the table before him, earning a startled gasp from both Rose and The Doctor

“Satisfied?” Illin asked

“It’s an old police box” Graham exclaimed

“Like the one of Surrey Street,” Yaz added “only…the one in town’s green,” Graham nodded as she frowned “this don’t make any sense”

“Makes perfect sense to me” Rose breathed shakily

“And me,” The Doctor nodded “oh thank you,” she breathed “thank you so much, that’ll do”

“Well, I’m sorry I can’t be of any more help” Illin chuckled

“I don’t think you are” Rose noted

He smirked at her

“You’re right”

With that the entire tent vanished, leaving them standing in the empty dune

“Well, bye then,” The Doctor scoffed “he was a bit full of himself”

“I’ve got a couple of questions” Yaz spoke up

“A couple? I’ve got a book full,” Graham scoffed “but shouldn’t we keep with those two before they get too far away?” he pointed ar Epzo and Angstrom

“Yes,” The Doctor nodded as she and Rose moved to stand in front of the others “now I know this is a bit of a shock” The Doctor began

“You could say that,” Graham pointed out “I mean we have been dumped in space. We’ve got spaceships crashing all around us. And now we are mooroned on a planet that everyone else is racing to get away from”

“All right, Graham,” The Doctor sighed “anyone can focus on the negatives”

“Well what are the positives?” Graham challenged

“The TARDIS,” Rose pointed “what Illin called the ‘ghost monument’ is the TARDIS, it’s here”

“What, the old police box?” Graham asked

“Didn’t look all that” Ryan commented

“Oi! It is very all that! Thank you very much,” The Doctor objected “don’t you see? I got it _mostly_ right. I tracked the TARDIS here, but the planet had fallen out of orbit, so we appeared where the planet _should_ have been”

“It looks like the engines are stuck on a loop,” Rose picked up “phasing in and out of space and time. If we can get there to when it’s phased _in_ we can stabilize it and get off this planet”

“Seriously?” Yaz asked “if we get there, you get us off this planet alive?”

“Yaz, I promise you, Rose and I will keep you alive and get you all back home,” The Doctor vowed “I’m really good in a tight spot,” she boasted “at least I have been historically, I’m sure I still am. If we stick together, if you trust me, we can out this,” she took a breath

“Right. Let’s get a shift on” she declared...


	3. On Families

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter THREE! Enjoy! :=)

******

“Do you think she was telling the truth?” Ryan wondered about an hour into the long walk “about getting us home?”

“Well, they saved Karl,” Yaz pointed out “stopped Tim Shaw. And they jumped a crane,” she playfully nudged him in the shoulder “I’d say they can do it”

“Yaz is right,” Graham noted “right now, they’re our best hope of survival. Or our only option, depending on your politics”

“Don’t argue with the wisdom of Graham” Ryan scoffed

“So, still ‘Graham’ is it?” Graham wondered “not ‘granddad’?”

“Yes, Graham” Ryan retorted

“What’d you think about Rose?” Yaz wondered interrupted, clearly hoping to stop a fight from starting “I mean she seems so…so… _normal_ ”

“I don’t know,” Ryan shrugged “I mean, you look her in the eye and it’s like…”

“…like she knows everything about you,” Graham nodded “yeah”

Ryan glanced up ahead where Rose and The Doctor were walking hand=in-hand

“Do you think they’re…you know…?” he wondered

“I don’t know,” Yaz shrugged “they seem like it”

“Eh? Are two blind?” Graham asked, coming up between them “of course they are”

A few feet ahead, Rose glanced around

“This looks like it could’ve been a forest” she noted

“Yeah, could have been,” The Doctor nodded “petrified forest anyway” she nodded to the field of bleached, gnarled and twisted stumps of petrified wood their little group was passing through

Rose pulled out her sonic screwdriver and scanned one stump

“Petrified wood” she confirmed

“This almost kind of nice,” The Doctor noted “you know, if it weren’t for the possible impending death” she added

“Yeah,” Rose nodded “I’d thought it’d be hotter, you know? Desert and all that, but…it’s actually kind of pleasant”

“Yeah,” The Doctor nodded “yet another mystery” she noted grimly…

******

The sand and rocks soon ended at the shore of a large river or sorts. A makeshift bridge of dried petrified reeds or branches had been built across the narrowest part of the water towards where a large boat was docked.

Standing at the end of the bridge, trying to block each others path to the boat, Epzo and Angstrom circled each other like animals, Epzo holding a weapon to Angstrom’s head

“Put the blaster down, Epzo,” The Doctor sighed tiredly “we all know you’re not going to shoot”

“Who says?” Epzo scoffed

“You heard, ‘no sabotage, no injuries, and no killing each other’.” The Doctor reminded him “isn’t that what….what’s-his-name-said?”

“Yeah, well, maybe I don’t play by the rules” Epzo scoffed

“Did you practice those lines in the mirror?” The Doctor asked in clear disbelief

“Nobody says I can’t shoot you” Epzo reminded her, suddenly swinging the blaster towards her face

“You _could_ ,” The Doctor nodded “you could kill all of us” she swept her arm to indicate Rose and the others

“So, what’s stopping me?” Epzo scoffed

“See this?” Rose held up her pinky finger, reaching out to press it to Epzo’s neck. Instantly Epzo’s eyes bulged out of his head, his jaw going slack as his whole body suddenly went stiff and limp all at once

“Nice move” Angstrom chuckled as The Doctor calmly plucked the blaster out of Epzo’s now-limp and frozen hand and tossed it away

“Thanks” Rose nodded

“Venusian akido,” The Doctor explained “temporarily paralyze while also being fundamentally harmless. Very clever, those Venusian nuns,” she patted Rose on the shoulder, beaming with clear pride “my girl here is a grandmaster pacifist”

“Should I let him go?” Rose asked “he’s starting to drool”

“I think he’s learned his lesson” The Doctor nodded

Rose removed her hand, Epzo instantly coughed for air as he stumbled for balance

“You going to behave now?” Rose asked “or do I have to do that again?”

Epzo glowered at her as he retrieved his blaster and stuffed it back into the holster

“You don’t get to take charge here,” he snarled “this about me and her fighting to win!”

“We’re all going to the same place and that boat is big enough for all of us” Yaz pointed out

“I know what this is,” Epzo scoffed “you’re all part of Illin’s game, saboteurs sent to throw me off”

“You think the _whole_ universe is out to get you” Angstrom scoffed

“How’s your family, Angstrom?” Epzo sneered.

Angstrom’s face suddenly fell, her gaze turning inward

“The boat doesn’t work” she finally said quietly

“Well, Ryan and me will take a look at it” Graham offered

“We will?” Ryan echoed

“Well, those NVQ classes have to be good for something,” Graham dismissed “an engine’s an engine”

“Not a space engine” Ryan objected

“Boys!” Rose held up her hands “save the fighting for whatever’s out there”

As Graham and a reluctant Ryan went to try and figure out the boat’s engine, The Doctor and Rose leaned over the edge of the dock and scanned the water

“So, that’s what he meant by ‘don’t touch the water’.” The Doctor sighed

“What is it?” Yaz asked, coming over

“Flesh-eating microbes,” Rose explained “millions of them in the water”

“Toxic atmosphere, deadly water,” The Doctor nodded “the whole planet’s a death trap”

******

Rose climbed onto the boat and reached out to pull the tarp back, only pause as she heard Ryan and Graham talking

“We ever going to talk about your Nan?” Graham asked “I mean, just ‘cause all of this is going on doesn’t mean we can’t,” he took a breath “I cope by asking myself ‘what would Grace be saying right now’?”

“What’d you reckon?” Ryan wondered

“Well…right now she’d be going ‘what’s the matter with you? You’re on an alien planet, how cool is that?’”

“Yeah” Ryan chuckled

“Yeah,” Graham chuckled. There was a quiet slapping sound, like he was patting Ryan on the shoulder “I’m going to look out for you, son” he promised

“I’m not a kid” Ryan objected quietly

There was a pause before Graham spoke again

“Yeah. Well, I was hoping you were going to say ‘I’m going to look out for you too’.”

“You talk about this stuff way too much” Ryan dismissed

“Yeah, I do,” Graham agreed “and you don’t talk about it enough”

There was silence and Rose took that as her cue to enter

“Any luck?” she asked, feigning innocence

“Nah,” Graham shook his head “look’s like he was right, not like an engine I’ve ever seen”

“That’s not an engine,” Ryan suddenly pointed out, peering at the engine “it’s more like a massive battery. Maybe its solar?”

“Let’s take a look,” Rose leaned over “three suns in the sky…and…tri-solar engineering panels”

“Well, if it’s solar, maybe the panels aren’t hooked up to the battery” Graham suggested

“Or maybe the battery’s not working properly” Ryan suggested

“All right, look at you two,” Rose grinned “let’s get started”

******

Within a few minutes, the boat was up and running and the group piled onboard.

“Hey, Yaz, can you believe it?” Ryan grinned “alien planet, man”

“I know” Yaz grinned

“This planet doesn’t make any sense,” The Doctor shook her head “there’s no other life here except for us and the microbes in the water. No plants, no animals, no insects, nothing”

“But Illin talked about old settlers,” Rose pointed out “they were obviously here long enough to name the ‘ghost monument’.”

“So what happened to them?” The Doctor asked “where did they go?”

“No one cares” Epzo scoffed as he dry swallowed a pill

“Don’t take him personally,” Angstrom spoke up quietly from the rudder arm “he treats everybody like this”

“I don’t need other people” he dismissed

“We all need other people” Rose told him firmly

“We’re all alone,” he explained “it’s how we start, and end, and it’s the natural state at al points in between”

“Were you born that miserable or did you have to work at it?” Graham scoffed

Epzo smirked

“When I was four, my mum told me to climb a tree,” he began “she told me to keep climbing until I was too scared to climb any higher. Then she told me to jump into her arms. _‘Don’t worry,’_ she said, _‘I’m your Mum, I’ll catch you’_. So I jumped. And she stepped out of the way”

The others stared at each other

“Sorry, did you say your mum did this?” Yaz asked in disbelief

Epzo nodded

“Smashed into the ground,” he continued calmly “broke this arm and that ankle. And then she stood over me and she said _‘Now you’ve learned, you can’t trust anyone in this life’_ ”

“That is messed up” Ryan grimaced

“Best thing she ever did for me,” Epzo dismissed “I love my mum”

“Yeah, she sounds terrific” Graham scoffed

“Your Mum was wrong,” Rose told him “we’re stronger together”

******

Another hour came and went with no change, with the exception of Epzo falling asleep, something which the others were all grateful for

“See your friend’s dropped off,” Graham noted, smiling at Angstrom “good to see him quiet”

“Yeah,” she laughed quietly “he’s famous for it, he can nap anywhere”

“How many stages are there in the Rally?” The Doctor wondered

“This time? Two hundred and nineteen terrains, ninety four planets,” Angstrom explained “we start the race with nothing and barter our way up”

“Is it worth it?” Rose wondered

Angstrom turned to her

“To ensure my family’s safety? Yes,” she nodded “Albar is being systematically cleansed,” she explained “half my family are in hiding. The others are on the run. This is my only chance to bring us back together”

“So, you left your family to do this?” Yaz asked

“I left my family to save my family,” Angstrom explained “they told me to. Besides I’ll have a better chance here than back home. If I win this, I find them, rescue them,” her gaze turned distant “…if there’s anyone left to be rescue” she added quietly

A disturbed silence fell over the others

“You make me miss my family,” Yaz commented “which is impressive considering that my Dad drives me nuts and my sister keeps trying to get me to move out so she can have my bedroom. And, I only saw them yesterday”

Angstrom looked at her with barely concealed tears in her eyes

“Never take them for granted,” she urged in a whisper. She blinked and shook her head “you all look…shattered” she exclaimed

“You should all get some sleep,” The Doctor advised “I’ll wake you when we get there”

“Yeah,” Graham nodded, tiredly rubbing at his eyes “sounds like a plan”

In seconds, he, Ryan, and Yaz had all quickly fallen asleep, leaving only Angstrom and The Doctor and Rose. Seeing that Angstrom clearly wasn’t in the mood or talking, Rose quietly stood up and stepped out onto the bow of the boat, staring out across the water

“Reminds me of that time in Venice” The Doctor remarked as she came up behind Rose

“Yeah,” Rose chuckled “Doctor…,” she began “do you really think we can get them home?”

“We will,” The Doctor nodded. She smiled at Rose “it’s us, remember? We save planets and stop wars all before breakfast”

Rose grinned and leaned against her, placing a kiss on The Doctor’s cheek

“Graham seems to think we’re a couple” she noted

“So?” The Doctor shrugged

“Nothing,” Rose shrugged “just…you’re a woman now”

“Again, so?”

Rose smirked and shook her head

“Nothing,” she dismissed “just…old habits,” she sighed “you’d think I’d get over those after I turned four hundred”

“Ah,” The Doctor dismissed “old habits are hard to break,” she explained “’course, once you turn five hundred everything stops being cool and just starts being boring. You turn into an old biddy who starts yelling at the neighborhood kids to turn their rock’n’roll down”

Rose snorted

“Why do I get the idea that you were one of the kids?” she asked

“Who says I was?” The Doctor scoffed in mock indignation

“I know you”

“All right, I was,” The Doctor admitted “but I didn’t just limit myself to loud music”

“Oh no, you were the joyriding type, weren’t you?” Rose chuckled

“Yep,” The Doctor grinned “still on a joyride, technically, in my ‘borrowed’ TARDIS,” she wiggled her eyebrows at Rose, earning a laugh which quickly turned into a yawn “come on,” The Doctor gently guided her back inside “get some sleep,” she urged “I won’t go anywhere” she promised

“I know” Rose nodded sleepily as she drifted off…


	4. The Ruins, Part One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FOUR! Enjoy! :=)

******

Rose blinked awake as someone shook her shoulder

“Doctor?” she asked as a face blurred in front of her

“Sorry,” Yaz smiled apologetically “time to get up” she explained, helping Rose to her feet. Grunting from how stiff her back was, Rose staggered upright and hopped off the boat onto shore…

******

“Have you seen yourself, Epzo?” Angstrom laughed as the group walked along the beach “I think that you’re more in love with cigar than you are with yourself”

“It takes half an Althusian lifetime to make one these,” Epzo boasted, taking a sniff of his precious cigar “to roll them, cut them, and then—this is the best part—to make them self-lighting, one click of the fingers and it lights itself,” he held it out to her “want a sniff?” he offered “it’s the closest you’ll ever come to winning”

From behind, Rose glanced at The Doctor and rolled her eyes as the group came to a stop a large set of ruins. It looked almost like a hotel, built in what resembled an art deco-style of architecture

“Big set of ruins,” The Doctor noted “but who built them? Where’d they go?”

Epzo laughed at Angstrom as he quickly took off a brisk jog for the ruins. Angstrom herself, glanced back at The Doctor and the others

“Good luck” she said as she took off after Epzo

“What, we’re just letting them go then?” Graham wondered as Rose and The Doctor scanned the ruins “how do we know what to do now? Where to go?”

“First things first we need to get through those ruins safely,” The Doctor explained “and quickly, because these readings are all over the place,”

She took a breath

“Come on” she instructed…

******

Entering the ruins they found nothing of particular interest. Climbing to the top of the sprawling two-story structure, they noticed one thing in particular

“Those suns are setting faster then I realized” The Doctor noted worriedly

“Well, back in the tent, that bloke, Illin, said ‘do not travel at night’.” Graham pointed out

“We need to move, fast” Rose nodded.

Turning they came up short as they were confronted with a ground of armed, hooded figures

“Whoa! They weren’t there when we came in!” Graham exclaimed

“Where did they come from?” Ryan demanded

“I don’t know” The Doctor, quickly reaching out and scanning the figure closest to her

“Oh my god! Doctor!” Yaz exclaimed

“She does that,” Rose dismissed “likes to stick her finger in light sockets” she explained as The Doctor examined the readings

“So much for there not being lifeforms on this planet” Graham scoffed

“They’re not alive,” The Doctor explained “they’re robot guards”

“Why would you need robot guards on a deserted planet?” Rose wondered

“I don’t know,” The Doctor admitted “good news is, they’re not active yet. So what we all need to do is, very slowly, totally non-threateningly, back out here,”

Slowly, they edged past the still frozen robots. Suddenly one turned to follow them, raising its weapon

“They’ve been activated!” The Doctor warned “ _run!!_ ” she cried as the robots opened fire

“Go! Go!” Graham yelled as they scurried down the stairs, more and more robots popped up seemingly out of nowhere and opened fired

“Swerve! Swerve!” The Doctor yelled “they’re predicting our path!!”

“In here!” Rose yelled as she dropped down next to a small, round opening. Gasping the others all run inside, finding a darkened, sandy room

“Should be safe in here for a bit,” The Doctor panted out “very good running all of you,” she praised, jumping in surprise as a large cutout suddenly sprang up from the floor “well, that’ll wake you up in the morning,” she muttered as she spied something laying in a corner “oh! What have we here?” she grinned as she scanned what looked like the burnt out shell of one of the very same robots outside

“Got anything?” Rose asked

“Information,” The Doctor answered as she studied the sonic screwdriver “oh! That’s bad,” she groaned “they’re SniperBots,” she explained “we’re in the middle of the shooting range. Everything within this perimeter is target practice”

“Which would explain all the targets in here,” Graham pointed out “and, looking on the negative side of things, they’re _human_ -shaped targets”

“Right, time to stop messing about then” Ryan declared, picking up the fallen SniperBot’s rifle

“What are you doing?” Rose and The Doctor simultaneously demanded

“Fighting back” he answered

“No,” The Doctor shook her head emphatically “guns, never use them, and Rose will back me up on this”

“They’re shooting at us with their guns!” Ryan objected “what’s your plan then?” he challenged

“He’s a point there, Doc” Graham pointed

“If you’d give us a few seconds, we could find a way out of this” Rose explained

“You can’t outthink bullets” Graham pointed out

“We've both been doing it for years” The Doctor dismissed

“No,” Ryan shook his head as he quickly loaded the rifle “ _Call of Duty_ , man” he grinned as he charged out into the open…


	5. The Ruins, Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter FIVE! This was actually going to be part of chapter four, but due to various reasons, I had to split it into these two chapters and you don't care do you? No, you just want to get on the story don't you? :=). Well enjoy :=).

******

“He’s going to get himself killed” Rose muttered as Ryan charged out into the sun, blasting away at the SniperBots

“What’d you think?” The Doctor wondered as she and Rose rooted around in the guts of the fallen SniperBot “ten?”

“Nine…” Rose nodded

“…eight…” The Doctor continued

“…seven…” Rose added

“…six…” The Doctor nodded, lips pursed

“What the hell are you two doing?” Graham asked

“Counting” The Doctor answered

“…five…” Rose nodded

“…four....” The Doctor shook her head

“…three…” Rose sighed

“…two…” The Doctor breathed

“…one…”

At the count of ‘zero’ Ryan suddenly came charging back in, shrieking hysterically

“Made it worse?” The Doctor asked mildly

“Just a little bit, yeah” Ryan panted out

“ _Now_ do you see why I don’t like guns?” she demanded

“Will you stop going on about it?!” Ryan demanded

“I will go on about it! A lot!” she countered “they’re here!” she warned as a SniperBot suddenly appeared behind them

“Everyone take cover! Behind the pillars!” Rose ordered as the group scattered for cover as the SniperBots opened fire, bright red bolts of sizzling hot energy flying every which way

“You realize that we’re completely surrounded right?” Yaz called out

“Yep!” The Doctor grinned over the explosions as she and Rose hid behind a pillar with the carcass of the fallen SniperBot

“With no way out whatsoever!” Graham added

“But here’s lesson, the answer was on the ground all along,” The Doctor explained “you just reached for the wrong thing” she continued

"What are you talking about?!" Graham demanded

“See, the thing about robots is that they’re powerful," The Doctor explained "superpowered. So powerful in fact that—”

“Oh for god’s sake!!” Rose suddenly grabbed the cable The Doctor was holding and thrust it into the SinperBot. There was a deep, rumbling _thump_ and a rippling shockwave of energy suddenly exploded out from the dead SniperBot, surging out across the entire area, the other SniperBots all collapsing at once.

“Still like to show off” Rose muttered as she stood up

The Doctor stuck her tongue out at her as they all slowly emerged from their hiding places

“OK…that was pretty impressive” Graham noted

“Thank you,” The Doctor beamed “we aim to please”

“What exactly did you just do?” Yaz wondered

“Electromagnetic pulse,” The Doctor explained “fried their systems. Reckon we’ve about five minutes before they reboot,” she beamed smugly at Ryan and tapped her temple “see? Brains beat bullets. Any day, all day”

******

“Let’s try through here” The Doctor suggested as they rounded a dusty corridor, passing more SniperBots which were starting to twitch one by one. Rounding the next corner they found Epzo and Angstrom hunkered against a wall, weapons at the ready

“What just happened?” Epzo wondered

“What do you care?” The Doctor countered “you don’t care about anything,” she grinned as she spied the tracker in Angstrom’s hand “ooh! Tracker, thanks!”

“How did you even do that?” Angstrom wondered in clear amazement

“Did I mention that I am really, really smart?” The Doctor smirked as she scrutinized the tracker “you can learn a lot from a SniperBot,” she remarked

“Like?” Rose pressed

“Like where their command signals originate from,” The Doctor grinned “also…maps”

“Thank you” Angstrom breathed, looking sincerely grateful

“You are very welcome” The Doctor nodded as Rose plucked the tracker from her hands

“Down here” she instructed, pointing around the corner, which lead to a narrow alcove and a large well-like structure capped with a large hatch. Handing the tracker back to The Doctor, she pulled out her sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the hatch, which slowly creaked open with the groan of long-disused hinges.

“Right,” The Doctor began “I want answers to this planet, and I think we’ll find them down there”

“Are you sure about that?” Graham wondered

“Nope” Rose shook her head

“Come on” The Doctor grinned as she quickly climbed down, Rose right behind her, the others reluctantly following. Ryan hung back and peered down into the hatch

“Why is it always ladders?” he muttered as he very carefully climbed down, finding Yaz waiting for him

“See? Second nature now, isn’t it?” she grinned

“Not really,” he dismissed as they began following the others “thanks for waiting”

“Always” she replied easily…

******

“These tunnels cover half the planet,” The Doctor explained as they wondered down a long, seemingly endless, darkened corridor “think of the technology a civilization would need to build all that,” she continued “then ask yourself ‘what happened to them’?”

“Whatever it was, it doesn’t look like it was good,” Rose muttered as Epzo grunted in clear pain, shifting his injured arm “how’s the arm?” Rose wondered

“Its painful” he answered

“Hope it’s made you reconsider your philosophy” The Doctor suggested

“Nope”

The Doctor and Rose both rolled their eyes

“Doctor,” Graham suddenly called. Stopping, she and Rose turned to where he was pointing “scorch marks all along the walls”

“Not exactly encouraging” Rose noted

“No” he agreed

“Still, best foot forward,” The Doctor encouraged as they reached a large, heavy-looking door “big locked door,” The Doctor mused, smirking shyly at Rose “I love a big locked door,” aiming her sonic screwdriver at the door caused it to open with an equally loud groan “ominous” The Doctor noted as they made their way inside to what appeared to be a control room of some sort

“What happened in here?” Rose wondered as they surveyed the interior. Like the rest of the ruins, the room was covered with dust and grime, but there were clear signs that _someone_ had been using it at some point. A table covered with dry, brittle papers, an overturned chair, dusty crates of some sort stacked against a wall, and a large, dusty computer terminal of some sort

“There’s another room next door,” Yaz noted. She glanced at Ryan “we’ll take a look?”

He nodded

“Yeah”

As Ryan and Yaz moved off further into the complex, Angstrom turned to The Doctor and Rose

“I don’t want to be here,” she pleaded “we’re off route, we need to keep going”

“You went into the ruins without knowing what was there,” Rose pointed out “do you want to keep going without knowing why its bad to travel at night?”

“Whatever happened here happened in the past,” Epzo dismissed “what’s it matter to you?”

“This was a living, breathing planet once,” The Doctor explained firmly “with an ecosystem, organic life, and a population,” she swept her arm to indicate the room at large “there was a catastrophic event here. And as hard as it is for you to understand, you are not the only life-form in this universe. Some of us actually feel a duty to others who might be in trouble”

Epzo scoffed in clear derision

“You don’t want to help? Fine,” Rose scoffed “go and fix you arm, take a nap, and we’ll wake you when we leave. If you’re lucky”

“Fine” Epzo scoffed, quickly marching off.

“Now,” The Doctor sighed as she and Rose turned to the computer terminal, sonic screwdrivers poised “give me something that’ll finally make sense of this planet” the computer chirping as it activated

“That’s more like it,” Rose grinned “Angstrom!” she called “bring me that…route mapping thing”

As Angstrom handed her the device, The Doctor nodded

“If we sync it…it shows us the whole tunnel network,” she explained as a diagram appeared on the screen “see? We could use the tunnels to travel at night and avoid whatever’s on the surface” she explained

“It’s more than that,” Angstrom realized, pointing at the display “look, that’s the site of the ghost monument. This entire network cuts diagonally across the route. If we use it we could avoid most of the mountain terrain, make it in half the time”

“Well, if you leave now, you could make it before Sleeping Beauty,” Graham pointed out “you could win”

Angstrom frowned, clearly considering it as something in the distance thumped

“What was that?” Rose wondered

“There’s something through there,” The Doctor realized, sprinting off in the direction of the sound, the others following her through another corridor into a large open area

“What are these marks on the floor?” Rose wondered

“Inscriptions” The Doctor answered

“What? Like cave paintings?” Graham asked

“No, not quite…,” The Doctor shook her head “but definitely left by the people who worked here”

“Well, can you read it?” Graham wondered “what’s it say?”

Frowning, The Doctor slowly made her way across the floor

“ _’We are scientists,’_ ” she read slowly “ _abducted. Tortured. And made to work while our families are held hostage. We are forced to find new ways of destruction. Poisons. Weapons. Creatures. We gave them our minds and they made us into creators of death. This planet has been left scorched and barren from our work. The atmosphere and water are toxic. Killing machines inhabit every corner. We had no choice but to obey…’_ ” she trailed off, looking stunned

“What?” Graham asked “what is it?”

“Doctor?” Rose slowly stepped over; examining the symbol The Doctor was staring at, feeling a chill go through her as she read it. Slowly, she looked up at Graham “ _‘…the Stenza’,_ ” she read “ _‘we are trying to destroy all of our work before they use it against others’_ ,” she picked up “there are two more words after that, _‘they’re coming’_. That’s it, it just ends there”

“The Stenza, that…that’s the thing we stopped in Sheffield, right?” Graham asked

“You know the Stenza too?” Angstrom asked in a hollow voice

Graham swallowed

“My…wife died because of them” he explained

“ _Mine too,_ ” Angstrom whispered brokenly “I’m sorry,” she took a breath “they took our planet,” she explained “sent us into hiding. Cleansed _millions_ of us” she explained as a sudden scream tore the air

“That sounded like Epzo!” Rose realized

“Come on!” The Doctor ordered as they sprinted out of the room…

******

Skidding into the room they’d last seen Epzo disappear into, they found Epzo laying on a bunk, what looked like a long scrap of cloth wrapped tightly around his face, clearly moving with some kind of intent as Epzo kicked and flailed, his panicked screams muffled by the cloth-like creature as it tried to smother him.

“Nothing’s working on it!” The Doctor exclaimed as she and Rose aimed their sonic screwdrivers at it. Grunting, Angstrom pulled a knife from her belt, grabbing at the trailing end of the creature and sliced it. With a strange, echoing scream, the creature released Epzo, leaving him sweating and gasping for air

“Doctor, I’ve seen those things before,” Rose panted out “all over the place”

“Me too,” Graham nodded “like they was lying dormant”

“Lying dormant,” The Doctor breathed “only coming out at night. Clearing up the wounded!” she realized “we need to go! Go!”

Turning, they almost nearly collided with Yaz and Ryan who came crashing into the room

“I’m glad I found you!” Yaz panted out “the SniperBots! They found the hatch! They’re coming in!”

“Everybody out now!” Rose ordered as they charged out into the tunnel, a doorway sliding open, revealing a trio of SniperBots. Aiming her sonic at the door, Rose sealed it as she ran in the opposite direction, she and The Doctor sealing every door they passed through

“Wait! Wait!” The Doctor called, skidding to a stop “hear that?” she asked as the lights dimmed “they’ve shut down the life-support systems,” she explained “cutting off our air supply”

“A man could really take up against those robots” Graham panted out

“We need to get out of the tunnels” The Doctor urged

“It’s night!” Graham panted out

“We don’t have a choice” Rose reminded him as Angstrom studied her tracker

“This escape ladder should take us right to the top” she explained

“What’s up there?” Rose asked

“Uh…acetylene fields” Angstrom answered as she climbed the ladder, Epzo not far behind

“Acetylene? Like the gas?” Rose squawked as Graham and Yaz scaled the ladder after Angstrom and Epos, leaving her, The Doctor, and Ryan behind

“Ryan?” The Doctor asked “you OK?”

“Yeah,” he answered as he stared up the ladder “just not my favorite thing,” he explained “climbing ladders during a crisis”

“If it means anything, I think you’re very brave” Rose breathed

“Brave?” he echoed, turning to face her

“Yeah,” The Doctor nodded “think of all the things you had to overcome to get here, and you’re still going. I’m proper impressed”

“Thanks” he nodded

“If it helps,” Rose began “try to think of facts about acetylene as you go up. Did you cover it in NVQ?”

Ryan nodded

“I think we might have done, yeah” he answered as a deep thump rumbled through the rapidly thinning air

“Got to be quick now, Ryan,” The Doctor urged “sorry”

Taking a breath to steady himself, Ryan slowly climbed up the ladder…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update: Credit for the opening scene with Rose and The Doctor counting must be given to Tahkaullus01, who suggested it :=)


	6. The Remnents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Chapter SIX! Enjoy! =)

******

Reaching the surface unharmed (more or less), the group began to sprint across the sandy dunes, illuminated by a dim moon

“God! What’s that smell? Garlic?” Graham wondered

“Where’d you find garlic on an alien planet?” Yaz wondered

“Wait, stop, everybody, stop,” Ryan called out, everyone skidding to a stop “look, its like the ground’s moving” he explained as a strange whispering sound filled the air as more of the creatures that attacked Epzo slithered across the sands towards them, easily floating up into the air circling them

“ _Finally! A big feast of life!_ ” a raspy voice hissed

“Nobody move” The Doctor warned

“Don’t let them touch you,” Epzo warned as the group shrunk together, trying to put some distance between them and the creatures “they’ll squeeze the life out of you” he added

“ _Yes,_ ” the voices continued “ _squeeze the life from all of you!_ ”

“The talk is to distract you,” The Doctor explained “don’t listen to it” she urged

“ _You can’t save them,_ ” the voices taunted her “ _we smell your fear too. The strongest of all_ ”

“You want fears?” she challenged “I’ve got a dozen lifetimes worth”

“ _A dozen lives?_ ” the voices demanded gleefully “ _we’ll take you first!_ ”

“Remember any facts, Ryan?” The Doctor asked “about acetylene?”

Ryan looked confused and shrugged

“It’s lighter than air?” he answered

“Yes,” Rose nodded “right, what else?”

“Smells like garlic,” The Doctor added “and one other thing…but we’ll have to dig deep for that, all right?”

Slowly, she began working her feet into the soft sand, Rose and Yaz quickly catching on and doing the same

“What are you talking about?” Epzo demanded

“Shut up and dig!” Angstrom hissed

“ _You lead, but you’re scared too,_ ” the voices taunted as two of them stopped, floating before The Doctor like cobras “ _for yourself and for the others_ ” the voices continued

“Yeah, well, who isn’t?” The Doctor dismissed as she continued digging

“ _Afraid of your own newness,_ ” the voices continued “ _and this one,_ ” two more creatures surged forward, menacing Rose “ _afraid of what she’s become,_ ” they taunted “ _we see deeper though,_ ” they added “ _further back, the Timeless Child_ ”

Rose and The Doctor stopped

“What did you just call her?” The Doctor demanded

“ _They don’t know_ ” the voices laughed

“What is it?” The Doctor demanded “what can you see?”

“ _We see what’s hidden, even from yourselves,_ ” the voices explained “ _abandoned and unknown. Trapped in your box!_ ”

“Get out of our heads!” The Doctor hissed

“ _Now we crush those fears from you!_ ” the voices hissed as the creatures surged forwards

“Enjoy your feast, whatever it is,” The Doctor spat “’cause, you know what some people like after a feast? Graham?”

“Huh?” Graham looked towards her in confusion

“Not us,” she nodded at Epzo, who was standing just a few inches behind Graham “some people” she hinted

Graham reached out, slipping Epzo’s Althusian cigar from his belt

“Do it” Epzo hissed

“Oh yeah,” Graham nodded “a nice cigar” grunting he flung the cigar into the air

“ _DOWN!!!_ ” The Doctor cried as they all flung themselves back into the shallow ditches they’d dug. Laying there, both she and Rose each stretched out an arm, snapping their fingers.

The self-lighting Althusian cigar lived up to its name and lit, the air above the group suddenly bursting into flames, the circling creatures screaming as they were obliterated by the blast

“Third fact,” The Doctor panted out “ignites very easily. Good old acetylene,” she grinned at the others “see? Teamwork, me and Rose swear by it. Now move, quickly”


	7. The Ghost Monument

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter SEVEN! Only one more to go! Enjoy! :=)

******

“What did it mean?” Rose hissed as they moved through the night

“Rose! Please!” The Doctor pleaded “can this please wait until after we’ve escaped the killer planet?”

Rose grabbed her arm, pulling her around to face her

“I’m four hundred and twelve years old,” she stated “ _four hundred and twelve_ ,” she repeated “I haven’t aged a single day since I became the Bad Wolf. And you said it yourself, I’m not Human, I’m not Time Lord, I’m…some _thing_ else”

The Doctor gripped her by the shoulders

“Yes,” she stated “I know, and I told you that we would figure it out” she vowed

“Doctor! The Time Lords were afraid of me!” Rose snarled “OK? They said that I was the Hybrid!”

“I know, I know,” The Doctor soothed “and when we get back to the TARDIS I promise you that I will do everything I can to figure out what’s going on. But right now, we need to keep going. OK?”

Rose nodded shakily

“OK” she whispered…

******

Despite a few close calls, the group survived the night and soon reached the site of the ghost monument

“We should be nearing it now” Angstrom stated

“There,” Rose pointed at a familiar tent “there’s your finish line,” she breathed “but,” she looked around “where’s the TARDIS?”

“I don’t know” The Doctor breathed, turning as Angstrom and Epzo suddenly decided to settle the dispute over who won the race with their fists. Sighing, Rose marched over and pressed her thumb to Epzo’s arm, causing his knees to buckle

“Now then,” The Doctor began “as to the matter of who won the race, can I make a suggestion?”

******

Illin looked up in clear surprise as Angstrom and Epzo both entered the tent, hands joined and held high

“What’s this?” he demanded

“Dead heat” Epzo stated

“Joint winners,” Angstrom added “ _with_ witnesses” she added, nodding at The Doctor and Rose

“There has never been a joint win in the history of the Rally,” Illin stated “no, I will declare the entire race null and void”

“Illin, you put us through hell,” Epzo growled “and I promise you, I will find a way off this planet and when I find you I will make sure that the rest of your existence is both short and agonizing. In that order”

“Pay the prize or pay the price” Angstrom growled

Illin visibly grimaced

“I am…honored to declare this joint win,” he stated “and will split the prize equally”

Ezpo and Angstrom both breathed a sigh of relief

“And them” Angstrom nodded at The Doctor and Rose

“No” Illin scoffed as he snapped his fingers

“No!” Angstrom cried as she, Epzo, and the tent all vanished, leaving the others standing alone on the dune.

“So, we’re stuck here ain’t we?” Graham mused

“Yeah,” The Doctor nodded sadly “I’m sorry,” she apologized “I failed you”

“No, you didn’t,” Graham pointed out. He looked to Ryan and Yaz “eh?”

“Yeah,” Yaz nodded “you got us this far”

“Yeah,” Ryan agreed “we’re with you both to the end”

“Yeah” Rose smiled up at The Doctor

“Can anyone else hear that?” Yaz asked suddenly

Turning, The Doctor and Rose slowly looked around

“I know that sound,” The Doctor murmured “oh give me this, please” she pleaded

“Doctor!” Rose suddenly pointed off at the next dune, where a familiar blue shape slowly began to fade into existence

“Oh, come on, stabilize,” The Doctor urged as she and Rose aimed their sonic screwdrivers at the blue box “it’s all right,” she called out “it’s us. Come on, come daddy and mummy…," she paused, glancing down at herself "...I mean…mummies,” she added

Slowly, oh so slowly, the TARDIS faded into existence, becoming so utterly solid and _real_ that both The Doctor and Rose simply stared at it for a long moment

“Oh…my beautiful ghost monument,” The Doctor breathed “Rose…”

“We made it…,” Rose nodded “we’re home,”

Sprinting across the sands, they hurried up to the box, slowly, almost reverently, placing their hands on the wood paneling

“Oh…she’s done herself up” Rose noted

“Yeah,” The Doctor nodded “I like it,” she glanced down at herself, smiling sheepishly “lost our keys,” she told the TARDIS “sorry”

With a quiet _click_ the door opened

“So, that’s your ship then?” Graham asked as he and the others came over

“Yep” The Doctor nodded

“And you say that you can get us all in there?” Ryan asked

“Yep” Rose nodded

“At the same time?” Yaz pushed

“Wanna see?” Rose challenged

“Oh, fair warning,” The Doctor warned “we left it in a bit of a mess,”

Stepping through the doors, she and Rose stepped into dark metal and a warm amber glow. The new console room was more open, the walls were open, making the whole room seem more like an area rather than a proper room. Completing their circuit of the room, The Doctor and Rose each took a breath

“Oh, I _really_ like it” The Doctor grinned

“I love it” Rose nodded in agreement as the doors opened again, Graham and the others cautiously stepping inside, gapping at what they found

“Wow” Yaz murmured

“Graham, Ryan, Yaz,” The Doctor beamed at them “ _this_ is our TARDIS”

“It was a police box” Graham exclaimed

“It still is,” Rose explained “…sorta. On the outside anyway”

“It’s…bigger on the inside?” Yaz asked

“Basically, yeah” The Doctor shrugged

“How do you fit all this…stuff inside a police box?” Graham wondered

“Dimensional engineering” The Doctor explained

“You can’t _engineer_ dimensions” Yaz objected

“ _You_ can’t” The Doctor grinned

“This is actually a spaceship?” Ryan asked “like, a proper spaceship?”

“And time ship” Rose nodded

“Get out” Ryan grinned

“Want to see?” The Doctor grinned, turning to the console, pulling levers, flipping switches and turning dials, the TARDIS humming to life

“So, we’re actually going home?” Yaz asked

“Home” Rose confirmed as the TARDIS took off, leaving the surface of Desolation forever…


	8. Better With Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are folks, the final chapter, enjoy! :=)

******

The Doctor stuck her head around the corner

“Ah,” she glanced back down the corridor “Rose! Found the library!” she called

“Coming!” Rose called back, rounding the corner “sorry, got the others settled down”

“Where’d you put them?” The Doctor wondered as she and Rose settled down on the plushy sofa in the middle of the room

“Uh…Yaz is in one of the bedrooms, Graham’s in the kitchen—oh, by the way, it looks like a 1950s diner—and Ryan in…the game room?”

“I didn’t know we had a game room,” The Doctor mused “hmm,” she settled back “how are you feeling?” she asked

“Tired,” Rose sighed “confused”

“Yeah, I’ve been doing some research,” The Doctor nodded “I can’t find any reference to a ‘timeless child’ except for part of an old nursery rhyme”

“How’s it go?” Rose asked

The Doctor sighed

“ _When Lords of Time rule no more, Bad Wolf will howl at the door, the Timeless Child born in the wild, will sing her song…_ , that’s it, the rest’s been lost”

Rose sighed

“More questions” she groaned

“We’ll figure it out,” The Doctor promised, pulling her close “I promise. But, first, let’s try to get the others home”

“Key word there, try” Rose snorted

“Oi! I’m a good pilot!” The Doctor objected

“You brought me home a year late,” Rose reminded her “you crashed Epzo’s ship, you—”

“All right, all right, thank you, point taken,” The Doctor rolled her eyes “strange life we have, isn’t it?” she mused

“Yeah,” Rose agreed “but it’s better with two”

The Doctor nodded

“Better with two” she agreed, pulling Rose into a soft kiss…

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! We are done folks! I want thank everyone who left comments and kudos! Up next, an AU of "Rosa" stay tuned :=).
> 
> Thanks again
> 
> \--AXEe :=)

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought :=)


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